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by monksy 1001 days ago
The time it takes isn't that bad. It's a relaxed and more comfortable experience. You are experiencing parts of the us you normally wouldn't see.

17 hours is fairly quick. But the timing is fantastic. Amtrak leaves after work in Chicago and arrives at hotel check-in time in DC the next day
2 comments
KptMarchewa 1001 days ago
Quick? That's 1100km in 17h. 65km/h average. Regular, non-high speed should be able to do max 160-200 km/h, achieving average speed - including stops - over 130km/h, which is 2x faster.
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monksy 1001 days ago
It has a lot of stops, also theres issues with track speed limits. Additionally, it's running on freight rail, not passenger rail. So theres no hope of hitting 130km/h. (80mph in freedom units) On top of that our cars are grandfathered in and can't be replaced at the moment.
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KptMarchewa 1001 days ago
>It has a lot of stops, also theres issues with track speed limits.

Outside of major cities, it's generally a thing where you pour in money and faster track speeds come out.

>Additionally, it's running on freight rail, not passenger rail.

In many countries, there are no such distinctions outside of HSR which has it's own requirements - it's all mixed use. In Poland freight trains use the same 160-200km/h tracks as passenger railway, and move aside to let faster trains go through. Also they use tracks more when there are pretty much 0 passenger trains, like in the middle of the night.

>On top of that our cars are grandfathered in and can't be replaced at the moment.

I completely do not understand that part. Your railway cars can't hit 160km/h?

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ever1337 1001 days ago
The problem is the freight railways own the track and amtrak doesn't. Legally amtrak has right of way over the freight trains but the freight companies routinely flout this and cause delays as the law is unenforced. Amtrak keeps track of these incidents which they publish on their site here: https://www.amtrak.com/on-time-performance
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stuaxo 1001 days ago
I guess that's a politics issue, the freight companies can chuck money at lobbying to make sure they don't have to give way.

Hopefully with some decent lines appearing in the US, Brightline and California HSR in the future people will start to experience better rail and this stuff will get more focus.

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bombcar 1001 days ago
Amtrak trains can hit 80-90 mph, even the big ugly beasts. Some are rated to the lowest of high speed rail, but the track has to be updated with positive train control (PTC) to go that fast in the USA, and freight railroads have no need or desire to install that.

People from Europe don’t quite realize just how much freight the US moves by rail. It’s absolutely batshit.

> U.S. freight movements will rise from around 19.3 billion tons in 2020

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brewdad 1001 days ago
Outside the Acela corridor is there a passenger train that achieves that in the US? Maybe the new Brightline. I've ridden the Amtrak Cascades quite a bit between Portland and Seattle. It's a scheduled 3.5 hour ride that usually takes closer to 4 hours. Driving takes 3 hours if you're lucky usually closer to 3.5, although I had a 5 hour return trip by car from Seattle one time when I left at 4pm on a Friday.

Point is, Cascades is one of the better services outside the NE corridor and it still tops out at only 75mph (120km/h). The average trip speed is closer to 50mph (80km/h).

We have a long way to go to achieve anything resembling European levels of service. Japanese levels feel like an impossibility.

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wahnfrieden 1001 days ago
Sleeper cars are nice
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